Different ending to Oliver's flashbacks
by Phillipe363
Summary: After watching the season 4 finale, I got this idea. A few things changed results in a different choice made by Oliver at the end of his fourth year.


**Hey guys. This fic wasn't planed at all but I got the idea and just ended up writing this out.**

 **So the usual of I don't own Arrow or DC comics. If I did I would have made sure we would have gotten a better 4x23 and for sure over all better season.**

 **Now on with the story.**

* * *

Crouched among the graves belonging to Yao Fei, Robert and Shado, Oliver sets the finale stones in place with gazing at the wooden log with _Taiana_ carved into it. He's in a dull colored long sleeve shirt with gray cameo pants and military boots. Over his shoulders are the straps for the backpack.

"And here I thought you'd never use the comm gear I gave you to radio for a trip home." Amanda Waller, in cloths more suited for outdoor use, approaches.

"Well, I lost it for a while, and the job wasn't done." Oliver said, climbing to his feet.

"And now it is. I sent you here to break up Reiter's operation and free his prisoners. You did both. You saved a lot of lives." Amanda said.

Casting his gaze downward "I took some, too." Oliver said, a low tone.

"Do you remember what I told you? That the only way out is through?" Amanda asked.

"Well, I am not out, Amanda. I'm still filled with darkness." Oliver replied.

"This was never about expunging your darkness, Mr. Queen. That darkness will always be part of you." Amanda replied.

"Then what was the point?" Oliver asked, confused.

"To show you that sometimes killing is the only path to justice." Amanda replied.

Oliver just turns his gaze to her, realizing the full extent of what it means. Like Taiana told him it takes a monster to fight monsters and there's nothing left inside except the killer.

* * *

Walking out of the woods, Oliver keeps behind Amanda by a few steps because his left leg still is pain due to a gunshot from Reiter earlier. Oliver casts his gaze across the grassy field where two helicopters are with their engines running and various agents moving about.

"Director Waller, what do you want to do with the artifact?" one of the two agents asked, that is putting the stone idol into a box.

"Have it transported to the SLAB." Amanda replied.

"Yes, ma'am." the woman said, as her and her partner carried the box to a helicopter.

"So that's it. Just going to bag and tag everything and pretend like nothing ever happened?" Oliver asked.

"You've seen what that idol can do, how large the world truly is. Speaking of" Amanda replied.

Just as one of the helicopters lifts into the sky, two men carrying a green munitions trunk, set it at their feet before walking off.

"What am I going to do with this?" Oliver asked, then crouches down to lift up the lid.

"Our business here is concluded, Mr. Queen. Unless it's not. As I said, justice requires killing. A man of your talents could be useful in hot spots across the globe, or you could just go back to playing vigilante." Amanda said.

Oliver picks up the notebook that lays next to Shado's green cloth hood and long bow. The offer to continue working as an operative in the shadows does have a certain appeal, just due to being a nobody in the world.

However, it's time to return to Starling so he can begin honoring the promise made to his father by crossing names off The List. Oliver knows returning home now would cause to many questions, no it needs to be a public display to keep even ARGUS off his back.

Also needs to retrain in using a bow since spending this year using firearms and make it seem like he's been here for years. Doing the math of growing his hair and beard to the desired length plus training, a whole year should be plenty of time.

"I have a promise to keep" Oliver said, closing the lid.

* * *

One year later in the fuselage during early October 2012

Gasping for breath, Oliver bolts up in a cold sweat with sitting up on the cot and doesn't even flinch when his bare feet touch the metal floor.

He's in raggedy, emerald cargo pants which are ripped just below the knees. Oliver's upper body is unclothed with his now long hair reaching just past his shoulders and a fuller beard, making him barely recognizable.

Rubbing his eyes, Oliver tries blocking out images from his recent nightmare of fighting with Slade on The Amazo as it sunk.

Discovered Slade's burnt ASIS mask he used, on a piece of wood with an arrow through it's right eye on the beach, months ago. Probably somebody placed the mask there as a caution to visitors or at least Oliver tells himself that to not dwell on the far worse alternative.

Glancing at the blue, eight-point star near his heart, Oliver's mind drifts back to his second year. Once killing Anthony Ivo and asking the survivors if anyone knew how to pilot a submarine, is when he gained this.

Anatoly Knyazev next in line to become leader of the Russian Bratva, decided to thank him for saving his life on The Amazo.

Using sharp but hallow sticks with cups of blue and black dye from natural plants, Anatoly painful tattooed the Bratva star on and gave him the rank of Captain. It's one reason why he had to be extra careful in Hong Kong when going up against China White and the Chinese Triad.

Pushing those memories aside, Oliver makes his way over to a stack of crates where his trunk sits, open. He slips on a tattered green vest which has the hood attached to it.

Last night on the encrypted communications device which has since been destroyed, Amanda Waller sent him a message saying _"Be ready. They were sent out."_

The only one who knows of his plan is Amanda and after waiting a full year has sent a trawler towards this part of the North China Seas. The fishermen know nothing of him being on the island and where simply recruited at a port in China, per his instructions. This way even if anybody tracks down the fishermen they are real to back up the story of just stumbling onto a castaway from Starling City.

A hand crafted recurve bow and arrows lay protected up on a rock ridge that overlooks a pile of wood on the beach which he is going to use as a signal to get the fishing trawler's attention.

Flipping the hood over his head, Oliver goes running out a nearby exit leading into the woods.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed that.**

 **Right into one of the more major changes is Oliver getting his Bratva rank in between the ending flashback scene of 2x19 and the first flashback of 2x21. I get the whole needing to make his way through the ranks and it does make the most logical sense.**

 **However I got from conversations in the early seasons it more of seemed like Oliver got the tattoo because of saving Anatoly's life.**

 **The writers had Anatoly through out season 2 flashbacks but never used that perfect chance to answer the Russia connections.**

 **I wanted to do my best to keep this with in continuity so replacing the months Oliver spent in Coast City with Russia just didn't exactly work. The only other tweak I made was removing Taiana making Oliver promise to tell her parents in Russia about her brother and her dying.**

 **Now *chuckles* one of the harder things to figure out why Oliver would chose to stay behind on the island. Putting aside appearance reasons, I realized I could use one of the more aggravating things of Oliver never using a bow and arrows in the season 4 flashbacks, to my advantage. Because archery is a perishable skill and Oliver putting arrows into six tennis balls mid air during 1x01, yea... not going to happen without practice.**

 **The Deathstroke mask on a stake is me including the canon novel from the Arrow:Vengeance where Slade placed the mask as a warning to Oliver.**

 **Over all I wanted this story to be like a person could get finish the season 4 flashbacks then read this and it ties seamlessly into the opening moments of the pilot.**

 **Until next time.**


End file.
